Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s feature take of Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man bit $1.36M in previews yesterday which comps to DWA’s previews for The Bad Guys ($1.15M) and Trolls Band Together ($1.3M), those movies respectively opening to $23.9M and $30M.
Dog Man is expected to be the first notable opening of the year, north of $20M. Quorum reports “Dog Man has been on the rise. Two weeks ago, it was tracking behind Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which opened to $23M. Today, awareness and unaided awareness are much higher than Paw. Could Dog reach $30M? It certainly seems possible.” Dads and moms under 35 are the strongest as far as those who’ll pay to see the movie in a theater. Dog Man is 4 1/2 stars with kids and parents in Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak exits. The movie is booked at 3,885 theaters. Previews started yesterday at 2PM in 2,950 venues. The animated pic is 77% fresh with Rotten Tomatoes critics.
New Line’s R-rated horror film Companion is on fire in exits with a solid four stars on PostTrak, and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and 95% certified fresh with critics. However, the BoulderLight Pictures, Drew Hancock written and directed femme bot movie is only suppose to do $8M-$11M. Thursday previews were $1.1M; that total number being $1.7M with Monday Mystery screenings. Quorum notes, “Three weeks ago, just before Warner Bros. kicked the campaign into high gear with a trailer and poster, Companion was tracking to open below $5M. Since then, awareness has tripled, and interest has climbed ten points.”
